Signs on the wall say "Yuneec is Toast"

[Phil Vanderloo]

There's only one conclusion I can think to draw-
I sent my Typhoon H in for repairs on 6/29 as suggested, (and RA'd) by Yuneec. The only correspondence I've received since is acknowledgement that they received it.
That is, other then a couple replies when I inquired WTF is going on?
In one email inquiry they told me I need to call customer service for answers to repair status'
So I called and they said they would get back to me the following week. That was 2 weeks ago. And that didn't happen.
After several more attempts to call, I get "estimated wait time 2 hours" every time.
So I went back to emailing, got one apology saying someone would get back to me with an update before the end of the day. That was last Friday. Didn't happen.
Now they're not even responding to my emails??
If this was a drone used for business I would likely be homeless by now.
Short of small claims court, I'm out of ideas.

 

[Steve Carr]

Well that sucks. Are you calling 844-343-9770?

 

[Phil Vanderloo]

Ya Steve. Just tried again and got much better results. The estimated wait time was only 88 minutes.

 

[Steve Carr]

Ya Steve. Just tried again and got much better results. The estimated wait time was only 88 minutes.

I think if you call early in the day and stay on hold for about 5 minutes, you will get the option for a call back. I used that and it worked. I think they turn it off in the afternoon.

 

[JulesTEO]

Honestly I believe part of the problem is that a lot of people over saturate the service; everyone sending their units for repairs which they could perform themselves just "because they shouldn't have to".

I also had to insist on lots and lots of e-mails after a crash. After 2 weeks of waiting I decided it was just too much, and purchased/fixed whatever I needed and was able to fly a few days after.

I still kept insisting with Yuneec, telling them I had performed fixtures myself and after a few months of constant e-mails back and forth they finally delivered. They sent me spare parts under warranty, and not just a few rubber dampers or a gimbal mount, but actually 2 arm assemblies, fastening clips and motors included. I still had to replace the arms myself, but well, I don't expect to get everything done for me while I just sit and wait.

But yes, I believe their service is oversaturated with everyone trying to get their units fixed everyday.

Hope you your unit back on the air soon!

Greetings!

 

[PatR]

When the long 4th of July weekend is factored into this and allowing for a week's travel time in shipping it hasn't really been that long. Can't say much about the lack of response but the time line is not out of order.

I've got two of the things and had a big problem with one. A couple of calls, send the telemetry, a bit over 30 days later, done. That's about where you are at now, and the staff had not been reduced yet when mine was handled.

At the time I wasn't doing much other than flying around building some stock photos and videos. A bit later I put them to work making money.

If something happened today I would take a step back and ask myself "How much am I billing per hour or project?", "Is it worth being shut down for X period of time to obtain free warranty work?" "How much will I lose against how much will I save by using the warranty?"

At least for me it's a heck of a lot more important to keep my business generating revenue and instead buy a complete new rig than dink around with a warranty process. Even buying parts and installing them myself makes more sense, but parts take longer than obtaining a new rig. That can be up and flying after a full check out in an hour and a half after delivery.

If time is truly money you need to be more forward thinking than worrying about a warranty repair. If you were serious about making money you would have more than one rig, regardless of what it is. if you're not in it to make money it's a hobby and very flight is an option. No pressure. Yours will get done and back to you.

 

[glider]

My ST16 malfunctioned a few weeks before the warranty ended in June, got it back in 2 weeks. Shortly after buying it last year the camera went bad; had it back in about 3 weeks give or take. I didn't fret much having several other craft to fly, but did miss it.....summers don't last long enough.

I agree with PatR.

Also, who remembers who the undisputed King is for horrible CS? (Hint; it ain't Yuneec).

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Been waiting longer... The lack of communication is my biggest issue currently.
Event occurred in mid May but took 3 weeks to successfully get all telemetry
to them... reason? lack of communication. Ruled to be a in-warranty repair
and was sent info to send to their 3rd party facility in Kansas City. Having read
several negative reports on this board about the services provided by the 3rd party
company, I declined their generous offer, and requested for the repairs to be done
in-house in Ontario CA.

They initially refused, saying that it was a further distance between Albuquerque
and Ontario, as opposed to ABQ to KC, and this would increase their shipping
costs. I informed them that I work for FedEx, and would pay the shipping
to Ontario. They conceded and it was sent out June 3rd, with a 3 day transit
to California. Got email confirmation that they received it... that email was
received June 20th... lack of communication.

Have been waiting since... several phone calls during this process... I am always
told identical information... my repair is in the queue, but they have not started
repairs yet, nor will they give me an estimate of when I might expect repairs
to be started... lack of communication.

But of course since they are footing the bill, I don't actually have much in leverage,
but I do know that if I'd have paid Frank at Carolina Dronz to do the repairs, I would
have had it back in probably 3 weeks. Time vs money.

 

[glider]

Been waiting longer... The lack of communication is my biggest issue currently.
Event occurred in mid May but took 3 weeks to successfully get all telemetry
to them... reason? lack of communication. Ruled to be a in-warranty repair
and was sent info to send to their 3rd party facility in Kansas City. Having read
several negative reports on this board about the services provided by the 3rd party
company, I declined their generous offer, and requested for the repairs to be done
in-house in Ontario CA.

They initially refused, saying that it was a further distance between Albuquerque
and Ontario, as opposed to ABQ to KC, and this would increase their shipping
costs. I informed them that I work for FedEx, and would pay the shipping
to Ontario. They conceded and it was sent out June 3rd, with a 3 day transit
to California. Got email confirmation that they received it... that email was
received June 20th... lack of communication.

Have been waiting since... several phone calls during this process... am always
told identical information... my repair is in the queue, but they have not started
repairs yet, nor will they give me an estimate of when I might expect repairs
to be started... lack of communication.

But of course since they are footing the bill, I don't actually have much in leverage,
but I do know that if I'd have paid Frank at Carolina Dronz to do the repairs, I would
have had it back in probably 3 weeks. Time vs money.

Yeah, I wouldn't be happy. Time for some management change.

 

[Steve Carr]

Fact is Yuneec has done a slow decline from the industries best CS to mediocre. Rumors a few weeks ago about a significant improvement have yet to come about. In fairness, it's easy to be outstanding when sales are in the tens of thousands. Escalating sales and the change in warranty from 6 mo to 1 yr seem to have overwhelmed the system. Could be poor planning or pressure to keep costs lower and therefore lower sales prices. Lower prices increase sales but also increase the burden on CS.

The fact that parts are easily available and reasonable is beneficial to owners. The other leading maker of quadcopters has very limited parts available for customer repairs. So Yuneec gets high marks for making parts available, but the scale is sliding on the CS end.

 

[glider]

Fact is Yuneec has done a slow decline from the industries best CS to mediocre. Rumors a few weeks ago about a significant improvement have yet to come about. In fairness, it's easy to be outstanding when sales are in the tens of thousands. Escalating sales and the change in warranty from 6 mo to 1 yr seem to have overwhelmed the system. Could be poor planning or pressure to keep costs lower and therefore lower sales prices. Lower prices increase sales but also increase the burden on CS.

The fact that parts are easily available and reasonable is beneficial to owners. The other leading maker of quadcopters has very limited parts available for customer repairs. So Yuneec gets high marks for making parts available, but the scale is sliding on the CS end.

I'd be interested in whose motors Yuneec is using.

It would be very informative if there was a breakdown of what is the most common point of failure, but obviously that won't happen.

 

[Steve Carr]

the most common point of failure

GPS/Compass module.

 

[PatR]

Second is landing gear legs.

To the OP, thanks for expanding on the situation. It helps to better understand where you're coming from.

 

[Phil Vanderloo]

The main reason I went with Yuneec is because I heard so many horror stories about DJI's customer service. My frustration would be diluted a lot if there was communication along the way. They haven't reached out to me once since saying they received the drone.
And for the sake of accuracy, I originally said I sent the drone in on June 29th. That's actually when I got the email that they received it. So it was sent more like June 25th. It's been 6 weeks.

 

[PatR]

No consolation, but 2.5 years ago I spent several months trying to communicate issues with DJI and with every e-mail sent only got back more badly written questions. When calling their at the time new help line I was told the product was too new and they had yet to be instructed about it. Ultimately I ended up eating a new, defective $1200.00 flight controller that never worked. I hear they've improved their CS department but I still read of long waits and unhappy customers. To be fair one of their reps took pity and offered one of his about 6 months ago. I declined as the door had been shut on the brand by then.

 

[ThunderChicken]

If you are making your living flying your H then you really need to keep at least two spare birds and cameras for back up. I don't fly commercially and I have a spare bird at the ready.

 

[FlushVision]

If you are making your living flying your H then you really need to keep at least two spare birds and cameras for back up. I don't fly commercially and I have a spare bird at the ready.

I have three although one has been mothballed since last year. I wholeheartedly agree: Any commercial aerial imaging enterprise should have a minimum of 2 aircraft.

 

[PatR]

Just keep up with the firmware. It's a pain to swap out cameras to find they were different firmware versions. Been there...

 

[gwhuntoon]

Honestly I believe part of the problem is that a lot of people over saturate the service; everyone sending their units for repairs which they could perform themselves just "because they shouldn't have to".

But yes, I believe their service is oversaturated with everyone trying to get their units fixed everyday.

I have to agree with Jules on this and his comment sparked a thought. I consider myself an RC hobbyist. I also consider my H and other drones and RC stuff to be RC hobbies, albeit expensive ones. There used to be a day when flying RC wasn't for everyone except the tinkerers. Today with the ease with which drones fly, everyone who is curious is jumping in. To Jules point, I think every hiccup experienced by most who've jumped in are considered by them to be issues which need to be addressed by the manufacturers, back in the day tinkerers wouldn't hesitate to grab tools and have a go with it. Have I had issues with mine? Yes, but being a hobbyist and a tinkerer I try to fix things myself, if nothing else for the learning experience and curiosity.

I think the CS demands on the drone industry are something relatively new. Even HorizonHobby is inundated with calls partly because new electronics which have made flying easier have also encouraged those who may have never ventured in to try an RC hobby.

Back in the day, RadioShack or Toys R Us would have been where these folks would go to get their feet wet with RC. Tamiya, Kyosho, MRC, HPI, and others were spared because most hobbyists wouldn't have used CS as their first option when things went south.

I know I've been pretty lucky with my H but I'm sure it isn't all luck.

How many people on here have torn apart a computer, washer and dryer, fixed their own brakes on their vehicles, repair their own mountain bikes, fix VCRs, small appliances, water heaters, furnaces, cell phones, etc?

If you don't like dealing with things that break then maybe flying things aren't for you.

I would bet money that most FPV drone racers don't spend a lot of time on the phone with customer service.

 

[Bartcephus]

There are two kinds of drones.... Those that have crashed, and those that are going to crash.
-----Old RC Proverb paraphrased----